'High Rise' - Gabrielle Russel, 2002

The short video 'High Rise', made in 2002 directed by Gabrielle features a mother of one, who appears to be suffering from post-natal depression. The young mother seizes her chance to perhaps change her life when her baby crawls towards an open window that could ultimately end in death.

The key element that stood out to me the most in the video was depression; how the video was slow in pace and gradually got more tense over time. The pace related/connoted how the mother was feeling, a slow, uneventful life that she wishes to escape from.

Sound was used highly effectively in this video and i found the technique Garbielle used was very interesting. The key moment that captured the essence of the video for me was when the mother walked out of her living room, leaving the baby alone in the room to effortlessly climb towards the open window. Ambience and tension rises as she approaches and exits the room, following with a sudden fade/cut-out of the sound when she closes the door. I found this highly effective and interesting because this technique clearly provides connotations of the mother's mind; she wanted to escape everything and believed that 'shutting everything out' was the best possible way.

Another technique in which i found creative and interesting was the use of a hand-held camera that created a dreamlike flow to the video. It kept the audience engaged and involved in the scene without making it too obvious that the camera was slowly swaying from side to side.

One final technique that has been used countless times yet is still highly effective, was the use of high panning/tracking shots in the beginning that showed multiple windows. The camera then focuses on one particular window and gives the audience a sense of that we're seeing just one of many different stories hidden behind one window. (Voyeurism)

Overall i enjoyed this video as it created a true sense of tension and emotion.